Here's the biggest news you missed this weekend

Editors

USA TODAY

Death toll rises as Harvey hammers Texas with catastrophic flooding

Punishing rains and flooding wrought by remnants of Hurricane Harvey blasted deeper into Texas throughout the weekend. The storm has claimed at least two lives, but it remains too soon to know the full extent of the death and destruction. The area could receive an unprecedented 50 inches of rain by week's end, the National Weather Service said. Residents of Houston spent the night Sunday in dark, flooded homes, continued rescuing neighbors throughout the night and braced for another round of heavy rains Monday that could further ravage the city. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers has started releasing water from overfilled reservoirs. The release was necessary, officials said, to avoid a collapse of the reservoirs’ dam and inundate downtown Houston but puts several thousand homes in the area at further flood risk. More than 1,000 rescues had been conducted since the floods picked up early Sunday. Throughout Houston, drivers abandoned cars overtaken by flood-swollen streets and emergency alerts on radios and cell phones continuously warned of possible tornado activity. The federal government has predicted a years-long recovery effort in states hit by Harvey.

It's Mayweather by TKO

The "Money fight" was a hard slog for UFC superstar Conor McGregor, who held his own for about half of the 10 rounds against Floyd Mayweather before the undefeated boxing champ scored a victory by a technical knockout. Mayweather extended his undefeated record to 50-0 in the Saturday night bout in Las Vegas, surpassing Rocky Marciano's record. Now, he's retiring, "for sure," he says.

Trump pardons former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio

President Trump pardoned former sheriff Joe Arpaio Friday from his criminal contempt conviction, removing the only legal consequences the lawman faced stemming from a racial-profiling suit. Reached moments after the announcement, Arpaio said, "I'm very appreciative of the president issuing that pardon. It shows how he backs up law enforcement." Arpaio was Trump's first pardon — the kind of controversial grant of clemency recent presidents have reserved for the 11th hour rather than their first act.

Trump orders Pentagon to reverse transgender policy

President Trump late Friday ordered the Pentagon to reverse the Obama administration policy on transgender troops, reverting to the ban on transgender service members that was in place prior to 2016. Trump also halted spending on medical treatment for troops transitioning to the other sex unless such a move would endanger the service member's health. The guidance to the Pentagon came in the form of a presidential memorandum, which carries the same weight as an executive order. Advocates for transgender troops are outraged.

Trump aide and Bannon ally Gorka leaves White House

Controversial White House counterterrorism adviser Sebastian Gorka stepped down Friday, saying President Trump's populist campaign agenda had been hijacked by establishment figures. Gorka had been targeted by liberals who said his alleged ties to a Hungarian nationalist party indicated the Trump administration's willingness to accept racism. Gorka's White House departure follows that of former chief strategist Steve Bannon, who is returning to Breitbart News, where Gorka was also a writer before the campaign.

North Korean launches another missile test

North Korea launched three ballistic missiles toward the East Sea near Japan on Saturday morning, according to U.S. and South Korean military. The North American Aerospace Command (NORAD) determined the missiles "did not pose a threat to North America." South Korean officials convened a National Security Council meeting Saturday to discuss the issue. Presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan told reporters that officials “reviewed the defense posture” of South Korean troops. He said the military would “proceed more thoroughly” with the ongoing Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, a joint training drill between South Korea and the U.S. that started Monday.

Critics slam Taylor Swift's comeback single

In this fraught political climate, there are very few things we can all agree on: Wonder Woman is great, Game of Thrones' timeline makes no sense, and Look What You Made Me Do is Taylor Swift's biggest letdown yet. Late Thursday night, the once-invincible pop star resurfaced with the indignant first single off reputation, her long-awaited sixth album out Nov. 10. But rather than the breathless adoration that met 1989 and her previous countrified efforts, Look What You Made Me Do has so far been jeered on social media and flambéed by critics. In the song's video, which debuted Sunday, Swift kills off her past personas.

Uber finds a new CEO

Popular, but beleaguered ride-sharing app Uber finally has a new CEO. On Sunday it was revealed that the ride hailing company would choose Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi to be its new top executive, a surprise pick after speculation pointed to GE chairman Jeffrey Immelt and HPE CEO Meg Whitman as the front-runners to land the role. Khosrowshahi replaces co-founder Travis Kalanick, who resigned from the CEO role in June under pressure from investors following a variety of scandals.

'Despacito' for song of the summer? Not according to the VMAs

One would have thought the infectious and inescapable Despacito would be the clear winner for "song of the summer" at this year's MTV Video Music Awards. And you would have been mistaken. In an upset, the chart-topping Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee hit (which features Justin Beiber on a remix) lost out to rapper Lil Uzi Vert's XO TOUR Llif3 for the fan-voted award, sending some on Twitter into a bit of a frenzy. The snub wasn't the only buzz-worthy moment from this year's politically charged show. Among the notables: Taylor Swift debut of her wacky new music video where she "killed" her old selves and Pink's powerful acceptance speech, dedicated to her six-year-old daughter Willow, after receiving the show's prestigious Video Vanguard Award.